Top half the target – Hughes

Aaron Hughes believes Fulham will finish strongly in what he predicts will be a tight end to the season.

The Cottagers lie 10th in the standings after Saturday’s last-gasp defeat at Aston Villa, which came after a three-match winning streak that propelled them up the table.

The result means just four points separate eighth-placed Sunderland and Villa in 15th spot, making it extremely difficult to predict where teams will end the season.

Hughes, though, is confident Fulham will finish the campaign well, starting with a return to winning ways when Swansea come to Craven Cottage on Saturday.

“It’s going to be quite tight because there’s a lot of teams around us now all bunched on similar points,” he told the club’s official website. “Each week maybe someone will jump ahead of someone else, then the next week they will be back down.

“I think if we can go on little runs like we have done, with two or three games where we gets wins, certainly don’t lose, then we’ve definitely got a good chance of finishing in a strong position in the league.”